This invention relates to safety shields for medical needles, and more particularly to safety shields that are axially movable along a needle cannula from a proximal position where the tip of the needle is exposed to a distal position where the tip of the needle is covered.
Problems associated with inadvertent needle sticks are well known in the art of blood sampling, percutaneous medication injection and other medical procedures involving use of medical needles. Significant attention has been focused on needle stick problems due to the contemporary sensitivity of exposure to AIDS, Hepatitis and other serious blood-borne diseases.
Procedures for removing a needle from a patient commonly require a technician to use one hand to place pressure at the wound site where the needle is being withdrawn, while removing the needle device with the other hand. It is also common practice for an attending technician to give higher priority to care for the wound than is given to disposal of a needle. In the case of typical medical needle devices without safety shields, such priority either requires the convenience of an available sharps container within reach or another means for safe disposal without leaving the patient""s side. Providing adequate care while following safety procedures is often compounded by the patient""s physical condition and mental state, such as in burn units and psychiatric wards. Under such conditions, it is difficult to properly dispose of a used needle while caring for a patient.
The widespread knowledge and history associated with needle care and disposal problems have resulted in numerous devices for preventing accidental needle sticks. Current devices for protecting medical needles often require two hands, and with some devices the safety status of needle protection is not readily apparent. Other problems of current safety devices include difficulty of use and high cost due to their complexity and number of parts.
There remains a need to provide a more satisfactory solution to a needle safety device.
The present invention was developed to fill a need for a device which effectively and inexpensively protects a medical needle after use.
The present invention seeks to resolve a number of the problems which have been experienced in the background art, as identified above. More specifically, the apparatus and method of this invention constitute an important advance in the art of safety needle devices, as evidenced by the following objects and advantages realized by the invention over the background art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a safety needle device which is intuitive and easy to use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a safety device with a minimum number of parts.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a safety needle device which is deployed by finger actuation, or in some embodiments by passive actuation.
A further object of the present invention is to be either integral with a medical needle device or attachable as a separate part.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows, or may be learned by the practice of the invention.
Briefly summarized, the foregoing objects are achieved by a medical needle shield apparatus for use with a needle having proximal and distal ends, comprising a shield slidably movably along the needle from a proximal position where the distal end of the needle is exposed, to a distal position where the shield covers the distal end of the needle. The shield comprises: one or more clips having a total of two or more apertures through which the needle passes, and the apertures have surfaces which contact the needle; and a clip positioning member in communication with at least one of the clips for positioning the aperture surfaces of at least one of the clips when a portion of the clip positioning member in contact with the needle is advanced past the distal end of the needle such that at least a portion of the aperture surfaces of the two or more apertures binds to the needle with opposing binding forces so as to secure the shield to the needle.